US Navy A-1 Skyraider Units of the Vietnam War

US Navy A-1 Skyraider Units of the Vietnam War cover

Description

Osprey's examination of the A-1 Skyraider Units' participation in the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Designed and built as a carrier-based attack aircraft in 1944, the A-1 reached frontline units too late to see combat in World War II (1939-1945). With the advent of jets in the late 1940s, the Skyraider was seen as a dated throwback to the golden age of piston-engined naval aviation. Despite its days seemingly numbered, the A-1 proved to be a huge success in the Korean War. Remaining in production through to 1957, some 3,180 Skyraiders had been built by the time the last one left the Douglas plant.

Nicknamed the ''flying dump truck'', the A-1 remained a key component in naval air wings into the 1960s, allowing the aircraft to play its part in the escalating conflict in Vietnam. Both A-1 attack and EA-1F airborne early warning aircraft saw action in Southeast Asia from 1960 through to 1969, when the last examples were finally retired from carrier decks. The A-1s in particular bombed targets in both North and South Vietnam, despite the aircraft being highly vulnerable to enemy flak and fighters. Co-written by a two-tour Vietnam War combat veteran in the A-1, this is the first book that focuses exclusively on the aircraft's service in Vietnam, providing a must-have volume for Vietnam aviation enthusiasts.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 1960-1962/Chapter 2 1960-1964/Chapter 3 1964-1965/Chapter 4 1965-1966/Chapter 5 1966-1969/Appendices

Product details

Published Mar 31 2009
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 96
ISBN 9781846034107
Imprint Osprey Publishing
Illustrations 85 b/w; 32 col
Dimensions 248 x 184 mm
Series Combat Aircraft
Short code COM 77
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

Rick Burgess

Rick Burgess is a retired naval flight officer who…

Illustrator

Jim Laurier

Jim Laurier is a native of New England and lives i…

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